Apple Security Guards Kicked Cupertino’s Mayor Out of Its HQ

Cupertino mayor Barry Chang is apparently not an Apple fanboy. In a fiery interview with The Guardian, Chang says he was kicked out of Apple HQ when he was a city councilman. He was hoping to have a meeting about the city’s growing traffic congestion to which Apple contributes considerably. He didn’t get one.

Per The Guardian:

Barry Chang barely made it into the lobby when Apple’s security team surrounded and escorted him off the property.

“They said ‘you cannot come in, you’re not invited’. After that I left and have not gone back,” said an exasperated Chang, who’s been mayor since December 2015 and had approached the computing firm when he was serving on the city council three years ago.

With Apple currently building its massive spaceship campus, Chang says the city’s trains and highways will be more overburdened than ever and could really use help from the company. According to the report, Chang called on Apple to pay $100 million to improve the city’s infrastructure so that it can keep up with the increased traffic from the new HQ.

“[Apple is] not willing to pay a dime. They’re making a profit, and they should share the responsibility for our city, but they won’t,” Chang told The Guardian. “They abuse us.”

Just last week, Chang was accused of allegations of lying and corruption, which Chang says are completely untrue. A group called the Cupertino Citizens for Sensible Growth wants to limit the huge impact of the region’s tech companies, like Apple. Chang, however, thinks that would “damage the regional economy” and that big Silicon Valley companies just need to pay their fair share.

We’ve reached out to Apple for comment on Chang’s accusations and will update if we hear back.